Hussain hundred puts England in control at Lord's On a belter of a batting wicket, it was a natural choice to have first strike, so Nasser Hussain's heart must have skipped quite a few beats when Zaheer Khan removed Michael Vaughan for no score. But Hussain himself hung in for almost 88 overs of the day's play, unbeaten on a resolute 120 off 262 balls. His main comrade-in-arms, John Crawley, made 64 and added 145 runs for the fourth wicket. Despite Zaheer's fine bowling, therefore, England were in command at 257 for four by stumps on the first day. Sourav Ganguly must particularly have missed Harbhajan Singh's wicket-taking abilities during the course of the day, having opted for Ajit Agarkar ahead of the off-spinner. But he will have to marshall what resources he has on the second day to bowl England out as fast as possible. It will be difficult - India still have to plow through Alec Stewart, Andrew Flintoff and Craig White - but there's no other way.

Injured Gough denies rift with England management Darren Gough has denied reports that he had been forced by the England management to play in Yorkshire's county championship match against Lancashire. Gough withdrew from the first Test at Lord's after he hurt his right knee again in the Roses match. He has been ruled out of the first two Tests of the four-Test series. "Despite what has been written in some newspapers, I have not had a row with the England team management about my knee injury, neither was I forced to play in the Roses match against my wishes," Gough said. "It's absolute nonsense to suggest that my knee injury has been misdiagnosed or that I was rushed into the Roses match ahead of schedule." "People have to bear in mind that Gough hasn't played in a first-class game for nearly a year now, and you can't risk him in a Test match," England captain Nasser Hussain said on Wednesday. "Darren will have to go off and play some county cricket. What happened the other day in the Roses match could have happened here on Monday or in the second Test match or in the third Test match or in Australia." "Darren has to go away and prove he can bowl for two days running and in a first-class game. The management of Gough from now onwards is going to have to be very simple. He has to go away and bowl two or three days running and bowl full out to be considered for a Test match. We now know at the moment he can't get through two days running." Gough said he had wanted to play in the match against Lancashire to make 100 percent sure he could get through a four-day game. "I'm looking forward to getting back into the nets and hopefully playing cricket for Yorkshire," he said.

Alec Stewart sets Test-appearance record for England Before walking onto the field for a record - for England - 119th Test match appearance, Alec Stewart was taken to the outfield and Lord's and presented with a commemorative bat by England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Lord MacLaurin. The bat featured gold plates listing all the Test countries Stewart has played against. Stewart, who had a rather late start to his Test career at the age of 27, continues to amaze audiences with his fitness and agility at age 39. Chairman of selectors David Graveney said, "He's the consumate professional, and the one allrounder of international calibre that England possess." Stewart himself was his usual concise self. "When I made my debut for England, it was a dream come true and to be here is a great achievement," said Stewart. "I'm proud and I'm sure my family is proud."

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